Who do their little eyes spy when they see you?

Anyway, I came across some pictures our youngest daughter took of our son-in-law and the kids when they saw him for the first time in many months, because he’d been on deployment. Looking at the pictures, I a) got all teary-eyed all over again, and b) remembered something that happened a few years prior to that–also after a deployment.

Our daughter called a few days after he came home, laughing over the fact that she'd "caught" him giving the girls more snacks than she typically does. When she gave him the eye roll that says, "Really?", he laughed and jokingly said, "I'm just trying to be the best dad I can be; making up for lost time."

My daughter started to laugh, too, but they both stopped short when five year-old Essie looked up at her daddy with all the sincerity in the world and said, "You don't have to try, Daddy, because you're always the best daddy!”

Both my daughter and son-in-law’s eyes got a little wet over that one. She got choked up just telling me about it. So did I.

But here’s the "thing"...

Essie and her siblings have no reason to think anything other than that--that their daddy is and always will be the best dad he can be. They have no reason to think otherwise, because he never gives them any reason to.

What about your kids? Do they always see you as "the best"? Do they spend their days and nights in complete confidence that you are never NOT going to love them? That you will always be their biggest cheerleaders and safety net? I sure hope so, because that's what our kids need and deserve more than anything else in the world.

Love,

Momma D